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Who is Regina now? – Once Upon a Time (Season 5 finale) (Spoilers)

This was an interesting finale. It gave us our new villain and characters. It also gave us a new way to deepen an already complex character. Regina battles her dark side but not in the way that I expected. I am actually very happy with the way Regina’s storyline was handled this episode.

The episode opened with Rumple tethering all of Storybrooke’s magic to the Olympian crystal. He needs more power in order to wake up Belle. He isn’t going to waste time trying to convince her father to help him. He knows he needs more power so he essentially tries to steal all of the town’s magic.

It doesn’t take long for everyone to learn what Rumple is up to. They know that Rumple having control of all the magic is not a good thing. They decide that he has to be stopped. The problem here comes when Regina suggests her plan. Emma tries to sideline her. Telling her that she is grieving and thus doesn’t need to come with them. What she is actually afraid of is that Regina is going to revert to being The Evil Queen. Regina is annoyed at Emma’s distrust and storms off.

Now, this scene annoyed me. Last episode Regina tried to sideline Emma because she thought her too emotional over losing Hook and wouldn’t be able to help defeat Hades. Emma was angry that no one trusted her. Now, what does she do? She tries the same thing on Regina. I was upset that after everything that Emma wouldn’t A.) trust Regina and B.) would do what made her so angry before to someone else.

Henry watches the scene and he gets upset. He sees his parents fighting. He sees his mother grieving and he is worried. He needs something to blame for his families misfortune. He needs a way to end all their pain and he thinks the way to do that is by destroying magic.

For a minute, I understood where Henry was coming from. He is upset. He is watching his family fight and watching his mother grieve. It makes sense that he wants to do something about all of it. He needs a scapegoat. Much like Regina did when she was blaming the storybook and the author for her troubles.

But what Henry learns throughout this episode is that magic is not to blame. Magic is a tool for people to use. It is a force. It cannot think for itself. Destroying magic would be like trying to destroy light or darkness. It just doesn’t seem possible.

What happened to Regina was tragic but is not magic’s fault. Magic does not create fate. Magic itself did not kill Robin. Hades did that. Keep the same scenario but take out the magic. Robin would still have jumped in front of Regina. Hades would still have ended up hurting him. Whether it was magic, a knife or a gun, Robin was going to die in that setup. Magic did not kill Robin, it was just the weapon of choice.

Henry learns that magic is everywhere. It comes down how to it is used. Destroying magic would not change anything. Their lives would not be perfect and blissful without magic. They would still fight evils and suffer at times. That is just how life works. At the end, Henry sees that magic is important and necessary.

While they are trying to find Henry, Emma and Regina have a very significant talk. Regina reveals to Emma that she wanted to lash out after Robin’s death. She wanted to hurt Hook for coming back when Robin can’t. But she knew that she could not go down that path. She knew that just tasting that anger and power again would be dangerous. She is scared of The Evil Queen that resides inside of her.

Regina refers to her darker side as The Evil Queen. It is someone she is constantly carrying around with her. She is the memory of all her mistakes and her negative past. The Evil Queen is always there. She is a reminder to Regina of what she did and why she now suffers.

Regina states that she carries her own curse around with her. A curse of knowing good from bad and the consequences. She knows that if she gives into her darker side she will lose those she loves. She could hurt them and that is too much for her to handle. On the other hand doing good, all the time, allows her to constantly suffer. She can’t push that suffering aside. She has to just live with it day in and day out. And that is becoming too much for her to handle.

Regina is given a chance in this episode to extract the Evil Queen from herself and she takes it. She takes a potion from Dr. Jekyll and she separates herself from The Evil Queen. Standing before her is her dark side. It is all the mistakes and evil deeds she has done in her life. Regina wants to destroy her. She hesitates at first while The Evil Queen taunts her, calling her weak. She ends up crushing The Evil Queen’s heart, thinking she has freed herself from that evil side of herself.

What we see at the end of the episode is that The Evil Queen is still alive. My question is can you kill a part of yourself and still live on? Regina forgets that your past is what creates who you are. All our past choices, good and bad, influence where our lives go. We learn from those choices. We make new choices based on the past memories of guilt or sorrow. Without that side who is Regina?

Regina is a complex character because she has these two sides to her. She has her memories and knows what she has done. But does she still have the feelings associated with that side? Does she still have a nagging reminder of what that evil did to those around her? What about her is different now? Something has to be different. She has basically split away a piece of her personality. Regina cannot be the same person without that side of herself.

It will be interesting to see how the show deals with this idea next season. I am also eager to see how the new “lost,” stories are worked in and the new characters we get to meet.

Quotes:
“Fate is cruel,” – Hook – This is what Regina thinks about her life. She believes that fate is punishing her for all her mistakes in her past.

“I am what I am,” – Regina- I love this quote. Regina is good and bad. Regina struggles to do good. Regina will save those she loves by destroying others. I think this is something she will have to remember for the coming season.

“Being separate is what is going to destroy you,” – Mr. Hyde – Can you live separated from a part of yourself? Doesn’t good need the balance of evil to exist? How does that work in a person?

“Magic is everywhere if you are willing to see it,” – Dragon – I just love this idea.

Questions:
Where is Rumple now?
What did Mr. Hyde tell him that made him trade Storybrooke?
How does Mr. Hyde know The Dark One?
How did Violet’s dad get to Camelot?
What new stories will we hear and what new characters will we meet?
What will happen now that The Evil Queen is wandering around?
Can Regina be Regina without the darker side of herself?

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"Someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won and lost, when the pirates find their treasures and dragons eat their foes for breakfast with a nice cup of Lapsang souchong, someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There's magic in that. It's in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift." (Morgenstern, Erin, The Night Circus, pg 505)

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